Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi feels that this evening’s Serie A match against Napoli was a test of how strong his team really are.

The coach spoke to Italian  broadcaster DAZN, via FCInterNews, after the final whistle of the 3-0 victory. He also cautioned against looking at the Nerazzurri as overwhelming favourites for the title.

Inter got a big statement win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this evening.

It was never going to be easy for the Nerazzurri.

Even if Napoli have not gotten off to the best of starts this season, they are still Italian champions.

And the first half certainly saw the Partenopei trying to prove why.

Playing their third match under Walter Mazzarri, Napoli pushed up the pitch intensely.

There were certainly moments where Inter had to struggle. And the fact that defender Stefan de Vrij had to go off with an injury during the first half certainly didn’t help matters.

But in the end, Inter held out defensively. And combined with showing their quality at the other end of the pitch, this allowed the Nerazzurri to reclaim their spot at the top of the Serie A table.

Simone Inzaghi: Napoli Win A “Test Of Strength” For Inter

After the match, Inzaghi said that “In the first half we started well.”

“Thuram had the ball in the back of the net, but it was disallowed for a very slight offside,” he noted.

“We had the reigning champions of Italy in front of us,” the Inter coach noted.

“We risked conceding with Politano’s long-range shot, and a great save from Sommer.”

“But I’m very happy,” he said.

“I embraced the guys, one by one.”

Inzaghi noted that “It was the third away match in a week. We needed to play a match like this.”

“Winning in Naples the way we did makes us happy,” he noted. “But there’s still a lot of work ahead of us, and we’ll keep working the way we have been in the last three and a half months.”

Inzaghi said that this evening’s match was “A test of how strong this team really is as a whole.”

“We lost de Vrij after eighteen minutes,” the coach noted.

“I had Bisseck available, and Carlos Augusto, who hadn’t played in a back three since he was at Monza, under Stroppa.”

“I didn’t want to move Darmian,” Inzaghi noted. “Who was marking Kvaratskhelia.”

“Which is a massively difficult task,” he said of keeping the Georgian quiet. “But he did well.”

Inzaghi Compares Lautaro & Thuram To Milito & Eto’o

Inzaghi was then asked if Inter captain Lautaro Martinez and striker Marcus Thuram compared to Treble-winning duo Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“One of them will go into the penalty area, and then the other one drifts around,” the coach noted.

“Milito made history for Inter,” Inzaghi continued. “Lautaro is making it right now.

“And Marcus arrived with a lot of hunger.”

“And then we can’t forget about the other two strikers,” the Nerazzurri coach said, referring to Marko Arnautovic and Alexis Sanchez. “Who both gave us a big hand on Wednesday.”

Inzaghi also gave some updates on the injured players in Inter’s squad at the moment.

“I hope to have Bastoni back next week,” the coach said.

“We’ll see with de Vrij and Dumfries,” he continued. “For the former there’s more pessimism.”

Inzaghi also added that “Pavard will be back in 10-15 days. Then I hope that I can have everyone available.”

And commenting on the title race, Inzaghi said that “Tomorrow morning they’ll be writing that Inter have no real rivals.”

“But after the first half in Lisbon, they’ll have been preparing a very different article,” the coach noted.

“But that’s football,” he observed.